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MOLDAVITE
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This
term is applied to a transparent green stone found occurring in small
pieces in Bohemia, in the region drained by the river Moldau, whence
the name moldavite. The color of the stone is of the peculiar character
generally designated as bottle-green; and since its physical
characters, such as hardness, fracture, optical qualities, etc., also
resemble those of glass, the view was long held that the fragments
found were remains from some long since demolished glass works.
Latterly, however,
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Dr.
Franz Suess has advanced the opinion that the fragments are of
extraterrestrial origin, and represent a peculiar kind of meteorite.
These views he has set forth in an elaborate work upon the subject.
Proof
of such an origin of moldavite would lend an added interest to it, and
probably increase its use for jewelry, the present employment of it
being rather limited. The pieces as found are waterworn pebbles of
various shapes, usually with deeply indented or pitted surfaces, as
shown in the accompanying cut. In size they are never larger than one's
fist, while they are usually much smaller. They are found in the beds
of brooks and in the soil. Regions near Budweis and Trebitsch are
especially prolific in the pebbles. Moldavite has a hardness not quite
equal to that of feldspar, being a little less than 6.
183
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